I would like to tell you about one of my childhood memories, which you may use in your book about them, and which is connected to some classes in literature, psychology and foreign languages. I am interested in the problems in communication, boundaries and limits needed for good manners, avoiding bad manners and different approaches in different cultures. It also involves our body language and the book about it by Desmond Morris: Bodytalk: the Meaning of Human Gestures.

Whenever I think about my life, when I’m alone I think about my childhood, good and bad things about it, large bruises that I got due to my curiosity, and bruises that other people got because of my love for them.

When I was a little child, I really liked older girls, especially blondes. Whenever I saw a beautiful girl, I used to approach her and hug her and touch her hair, and, in that way, I used to show her that I really liked her. Then my parents would say that they were sorry and that I approached everyone I liked very much like that. Then one day I saw my godmother on the other side of the street and I hugged her right away. Because I used to like to bite people I love, I pulled her hair and bit her cheek. She tried to get away from me but I bit her even harder only because I really loved her. The following day I saw her cheek and I finally realized that I hurt her and I was deeply, frightfully and truly sorry because of it. My godmother’s cheek was swollen for a few weeks and I was responsible for that. After that I started showing affection in a different, gentler way.

I just wanted to share this story with you because I know that you can use it in your book. Some people think it is funny, and some that it is not. What is important is responsibility, the fact that we are responsible for our actions.